Today we’re going to be taking what we call the inner peace meditation. And many people right now are experiencing a lot of anxiety, a lot of challenges. How will this affect me and potentially my own health? How will that affect the health of my parents, or my friends, or my family? How will I survive financially? What will this mean to my livelihood? Or even how can I get basic groceries in a safe way?
So there are many challenges that we all face as individuals and as a collective. And sometimes it can be difficult to deal with that anxiety, that sadness. And people may ask me, “Well, hang on Ashok, how can we develop inner peace in an experience like this? That sounds impossible.” And what I’ll say is this, let’s flip it on its head and actually start from this idea that we are actually born as peaceful. We have that sense of peace within us, that sense of connection to everything around us. And then gradually over time we learn different messages from society, from our families, from the school system. And those beliefs and those systems then shift and change our ability to connect to that inner peace. And then gradually only as an adult do we recognize the importance of connecting with that peace and stillness that we have within us.
And especially at a time like this, it’s recognizing that we are made up of that sense of stillness and peace. So imagine a diamond, now diamonds is bright. It’s glowing, it’s one of the most solid substances in the universe. And yet, when we cover that diamond with just a thin layer of dust, that diamond can no longer sparkle. It can no longer shine. And so it is with the ups and downs of life. The stresses and strains of life. And also the situation we’re in right now.
It can create layers of dust over that shining diamond that we are. And that shining diamond is that we can radiate love, we can radiate peace, we can radiate joy. But the situations and circumstances of our lives put these layers over it. Now that doesn’t mean that we deny what’s going on or think that it’s okay in some way. But it is about saying, “Actually if we regularly use something like breathing or meditation to remove those layers of dust, we can connect with the core of who we are, the deeper essence of who we are, which is that stillness and that peace.”
It’s a happiness, but it’s from a peaceful place, rather than an excited place. And many people have had the opportunity now to go deep within themselves and meditate more, perhaps more than they ever did in the past. You know, they say, as I’ve mentioned before, “If you can’t go outside then go inside.” So many people are finding that this time that we’re in right now has been an opportunity to do all of those things that we never said we have time for.
How many people have said, “Oh, I didn’t have time to meditate. I didn’t have time to exercise. I didn’t have time to think about preparing good, healthy meals. I didn’t have time for any of that.” And yet they’ll spend two hours surfing cat videos on Facebook, whereas now we’ve been forced into this cocoon, like a caterpillar turns into a butterfly. The transformation when we get into that cocoon can sometimes feel painful. Imagine a caterpillar has to sprout wings from its back, and yet that time, that time in that cocoon is an opportunity for us to transform in some way and we choose how we want to transform. That is the beauty of it, it’s our choice.
But as a starting point, that opportunity to meditate, to go deep with it, I’d love for you all to experience either once or twice a day. Now as part of the Coronavirus Challenge, there are plenty of 10 and 20 minute meditations that you can experience on the website and lots of resources that you can take part in, and it’s all completely free. So I hope you’ll get a chance to partake in the challenge.
So please now just make sure you won’t be disturbed, you can switch off your phones, your other devices, making sure you won’t be interrupted. And we can go deep and experience some inner peace right now. And once again, for those of you who are new to meditation, please do remember that even if you sit there and all you’re experiencing are thoughts, that’s okay. Even experienced meditators will have days when they have just a head full of thoughts. And that’s part of the process. It’s just observing them, acknowledging that you have a busy mind with lots of thoughts.
But you being the center of the storm. So there’s a storm going around and there’s this mythical idea of a center of the storm, the eye of the storm, which is the place of peace no matter what is happening around you. So you observe without judgment. Let your mind have lots of thoughts if you would like, and then as you regularly practice the witness position, you strengthen that witness position. And gradually over time you get less involved in the thoughts and in the emotions of your mind so you don’t feed them anymore. So eventually fully associates without witnessing awareness and then everything changes.
But you being the center of the storm. So there’s a storm going around and there’s this mythical idea of a center of the storm, the eye of the storm, which is the place of peace no matter what is happening around you. So you observe without judgment. Let your mind have lots of thoughts if you would like, and then as you regularly practice the witness position, you strengthen that witness position. And gradually over time you get less involved in the thoughts and in the emotions of your mind so you don’t feed them anymore. So eventually fully associates without witnessing awareness and then everything changes.
To learn more and experience my Finding Inner-Peace meditation, please watch the video below. And please share the video with others who could benefit from the knowledge.
